Highly-rated Santos forward Gabriel Barbosa, who has been compared to Brazilian sensation Neymar, is considering offers from Manchester United, Chelsea and Arsenal.

This is according to information obtained by the Express, with the report adding the Santos are preparing to offload the gifted 18-year-old next summer.

The three aforementioned Premier League clubs are all prepared to pay huge fees for the teenager, whose contract includes a £40 million release clause. However, it’s believed that Santos will consider offers in the region of £24 million, with the player’s contract set to expire in 18 months time.

Barcelona keen

They will need to act quickly to secure Barbosa’s services, however, because Barcelona also have an eye on the Brazilian ace.

The Catalan giants successfully struck a deal with Santos for the transfer of Neymar in 2013 - a deal which would later spark major controversy - and may have the upper-hand over the Premier League trio in the race for this latest future superstar.

Indeed these latest reports claim that Barcelona managed to include a ‘first-rights’ clause for the forward, who has scored 22 goals in 63 appearances for Santos since making his debut last year, as part of the multi-million euro deal to bring Neymar to the Camp Nou.

Timing of move

Neymar waited until he was 21 before making the move to Europe, despite constant speculation and pressure to leave his home country much earlier in his career.

In the end it proved the right decision. Neymar was at the right age to learn and mature at Barcelona, and subsequently arrived at the 2014 World Cup finals a much more complete footballer.

There’s a danger that Barbosa will be leaving Brazilian football a little prematurely. Countless players in recent times have left South America for Europe too young and paid a heavy price for doing so.

Human qualities

It’s important that the interested clubs assess Barbosa the human being and not just the footballer, because the teenager is patently a special talent with a huge future if managed correctly.

Because of the success of the likes of Neymar and Lionel Messi, top clubs are eager to snap up the ‘next big thing’ - and it seems Barbosa could soon be attempting to fulfil his immense potential with a Premier League club.

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